


We Got Forced Together (But It Just Might Be Alright)

by TiredPanAndNotAFan (orphan_account)



Series: A Series of Events, Dictated By The Written Word [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Coffee Shops, I'm Bad At Tagging, Like ive never seen him portrayed as autistic but he is the PICTURE of Asperger's Syndrome, They're all beans, artwork, autistic patton, it isn't said outright tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 20:40:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20936414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/TiredPanAndNotAFan
Summary: When three best friends show up to their favorite coffee-shop, they find that all the seats are full. They have to sit down with the emo sitting by himself, in the back of the shop.ORPatton, Logan, and Roman hijack Virgil's alone-time on accident.i made this to explain a situation described in "Loud Like Thunder" and I might make more





	We Got Forced Together (But It Just Might Be Alright)

**Author's Note:**

> WARNINGS: food/drinks, stimming (but only a little), curse words, mention of deceased parents and neglect
> 
> Virgil is wearing his old hoodie in this one, because he hasn't Seen the Light (Sides) yet

Patton, Logan, and Roman had a tradition. Every Saturday night, they all load up in Logan's car, and go to a special coffee-shop tucked into an alleyway between the bank and the library, called "Mocha-Cocoa-Coffee-Tea," chosen so eloquently by the owner and his eccentric therapist-boyfriend, who liked to call it MoCoCoTea. The three friends each had their own custom orders, memorized by all the baristas, and their own unofficial-official table they always sat at. The shop also had a unique order system, where you write your name, order, and preferred seating location down, and the barista would direct you to sit in a general area. The three always wrote "Back-Corner Booth," and they always got it.

It was usually quiet, but sometimes it was filled to the brim with college students and struggling young-adults. Tonight just happened to be one of those nights. Lo, Pat, and Ro made their way into the buzzing coffee-shop, music from the old-fashioned jukebox filling the cracks between conversation and general bustle. They each ordered their drinks and stood in line, until the owner, Remy, called their orders.

"Large mocha with milk, extra dash of cinnamon and nutmeg for Patton, large decaf hot chai poured over ice for Logan, large whatever _this_ monstrosity is for Roman, and a medium boring straight black coffee for Virgil!" he rattled off, and "Virgil" shoved past the three friends, grabbing his coffee. He seemed to know Remy.

"Rem, there's nothing 'straight' about it."

"Whatever you say, sugar, go sit over there! --Hey babes, you gonna get your drinks or what?" Roman grabbed his drink and took a long sip. he looked seriously at Remy and scowled.

"Did you see that black-clad disaster shove me? I dunno who he was, but he was _rude!_" Patton looked away guiltily--he was thinking the same thing-- and Logan nodded in confirmation. Remy laughed and began working on the next order.

"You be nice to him, that's, like, my baby brother. And," he added, craning his head to survey the shop, "he just sat down in you hoe's booth, and it's still the only place where all three of you fit. Shoo, I have to get this done and open the upstairs!" The three reluctantly shuffled to their normal booth, eyeing the emo warily. He was hunched over a sketchbook, the hood of his dark-gray striped hoodie pulled up. He glared up at the three and pushed his bangs out of his face.

"What do you want?" he growled, squaring his shoulders. Patton squeaked and flapped his wrist nervously, and when Virgil's gaze flicked to it, Logan glared at him. Patton stepped forward and forded his hands behind his back.

"Remy told us to sit here, 'cuz there's nowhere else for us to sit, I hope that's okay?" Pat grinned nervously at Virgil.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Sorry kiddo, but you better be-_tea_-ve it! Can we sit down?" Virgil hid his face when Patton made the pun, but it looked an awful lot like he was trying to not laugh.

"I guess. I'm not sitting down next to Sinclair, though." Roman looked offended and slid into the booth opposite of Virgil. Logan sat beside him, leaving Patton with Virgil.

"I'll have you know, Dark and Dreary, that I am a _joy_ to be around and-- wait, how do you know my last name? Are you a stalker!?"

"No, idiot, I work set and costume design for the theater. Do you know how many doorways I've had to supersize for your tall *ss?"

Roman stuttered, even more offended than before, while Logan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Will the two of you cease and desist in this discussion, we did not come here to begin fights." Virgil muttered something like "maybe you didn't," but Patton jumped on the occasion to preach his overly-pure ideals.

"Yeah, guys, we should never _try_ to start fights! Everyone should be nice to new people, 'cuz you never know when you could make a new friend! Right, Roman?" the geek in question made to protest, but Logan kicked him under the table. He quickly changed his answer.

"Yeah, Pat, that's right. But--" Virgil cut him off.

"Can you shut up? I'm trying to work on something."

"Ooh, kiddo, wanna show us?"

"No."

"I will have to admit that I am now intrigued."

"Yeah, come on, Virgil, show us!" Virgil shrank into himself, hugging his sketchbook to his chest, as the three stared expectantly at him. He groaned and threw it onto the table for them to see.

"It's not that great, I mean, nothing I do is great, but-- What's that look on your face, Sinclair?" Roman was staring at the drawing with _absolute childlike wonder_ in his eyes.

"Is that me!?"

"Yeah, I'm costume design, remember?"

"THAT IS THE MOST AMAZING THING I HAVE SEEN IN MY LIFE!" shouted Roman, making the people at nearby tables stare at them in annoyance. Patton gushed and pushed it toward Logan.

"Logie, Logie, do you see this!? This is awesome! The best thing I've ever saw!" Logan and Virgil cringed at Patton's poor English.

"I see. It is exceptional. The proportions are all correct, and it _does_ share a striking resemblance with Roman."

The three friends continued to praise Virgil's work, as Virgil grew more and more red in the face. Once he snatched it back (with the excuse of "I need to got it done"), they lapsed into idle conversation. Virgil learned that Logan was studying to become a teacher and was taking a psychology course to "keep him busy," Patton was a veterinary nurse-in-training, and -surprisingly- Roman was taking an anthropology course, as well as an advanced English course. In turn, Virgil shared that he was trying for a degree in Art and Design. he came to realize that he felt _comfortable_ around these strangers. Even better, they seemed to _like_ him, he didn't even get that with Declan. And even better, he didn't feel _drained._

And that was really something.

Eventually, Patton noticed that Virgil wasn't talking, but he also took note of the hopeful smile on his face. He got an idea.

"Hey, Virge, can I call you that? Anyway, you said you work for the theater. What's your favorite Broadway musical?"

"Um, well--"

"I bet he likes something edgy, like Heathers! Is that right, Emo Nightmare?"

"Awfully bold words for someone who wore clothes _I_ designed for your starring role of JD lest year," he threatened, then added, "And anyway, it's Beetlejuice. I got called 'JD' enough in high school to last a lifetime." Patton frowned a little at the bitter remark.

"I'm sorry to hear you got made fun of. You wanna tell us why you like Beetle-- uh, what was it?" he asked with a sheepish grin, and Virgil chuckled. He covered it with his hand so Roman wouldn't see.

"It's 'Beetlejuice,' like, 'Bug Beverage.' Well, first of all, the soundtrack slaps, next question. The costumes fit all the characters perfectly, and the special effects are _sick._ The main characters are so... three-dimensional. Lydia's always been kind-of like a hero to me, because of the movie, but the musical better explores the grief and loneliness you feel when you lose a parent. Betelgeuse, even though he's not the greatest, struggles with loneliness too, but that's because his mom neglects him, and he took to lashing out at the people around him to cope, until it became second nature."  
At this Logan nearly laughed, but covered it up with a fake cough.  
"Delia is an outsider and she knows it, Charles in in denial, the Maitlands are chock-full of regret, but somehow, they all work through it and become closer--except for Betelgeuse. He gets revenge on his mom, but he's still pretty much double-dead at the end. Lydia learns how to move on, Charles and Delia find each other, and the Maitlands get the kid they never wanted but always needed. It's all about healing and acceptance," he finishes softly, shoving his hands in his pockets and ducking his head. After a moment, Logan sat back and folded his hands.

"It sounds like you identify very strongly with the characters in the narrative. Have you head experiences that correlate with their's?"

Virgil stiffened, then shot a glare at Logan.

"You must be at least a Level Five friend to unlock my tragic backstory. I've already got a therapist, I don't need you and your psychology-whatever," he deadpanned, and Roman burst out laughing. He only laughed harder when Virgil's sharp gaze turned toward him. Patton tried to deescalate the situation.

"Have you seen it live? I would think that would be pretty cool!"

"Nah, I don't have the money."

"then, my dear Virgil," Roman asked sarcastically, "how do you know so much about it?"

Virgil took a long sip of his drink and looked Roman directly in the eye.

"A Google account, a talent for using the right keywords, and a healthy disregard for the law." Roman looked confused, so Logan stepped in.

"I believe Virgil is saying that he illegally watches bootleg."

"... Oh."

After that, Roman complained how he could never find bootleg anywhere, and how much he wanted to watch Hamilton. Virgil offered to send him the links to "the good stuff," as he put it, when Logan pointed out that they did not have each other's contact information.

"Well, how about we all exchange numbers with Virgil? Oh my gosh, we can make a group chat! if that's okay, Virge," Patton offered, bouncing in his seat, his foot tapping under the table.

"Yeah, sure, I guess. Gimme a sec," Virgil mumbled, pulling out his phone. He opened Contacts, created a new one, and handed his phone to Roman. "Here."

Roman typed in his information and handed the phone back to Virgil, who stared incredulously at his screen.

"You want your contact name to be... 'Gay Disney Prince.' That is the absolute worst f*cking--"

"Language, young man!"

"_\--Freaking_ thing ever. I'm changing it."

"WHAT? NOOOOO! WHAT ARE YOU CHANGING IT TO!?" 

"Not telling."

"No fair!"

"We are all gay, I don't understand why you felt obligated to type it out," Logan mused, adjusting his glasses.

Virgil repeated the process (without the whining and complaining) with Logan and Patton. Right after _"Patton-Cake 🐶"_ was saved, however, an alarm on Virgil's phone went off.

"Shoot, I've gotta go. Uh, Patton, can I get out?"

"Sure kiddo! We're here every Saturday, you're always welcome to join us!" He slid out of the booth to let Virgil out. The latter swung out and grabbed his coffee, giving the other three a two-fingered salute.

"I guess I'll be seeing you guys again, or something."

"Bye-Bye!"

"Farewell."

"I bid thee adieu!"

As Virgil made his way out of the shop, he mulled over the whole ordeal in his head, and instead of being filled with dread at the prospect of friends, he was hopeful. And maybe they were put together by a weird unique order system and his stupid older brother, but it might have been something more that led Virgil to Logan, Patton, and Roman.

And, strangely enough, Virgil was happy about it.

**Author's Note:**

> haha you probably though "mention of deceased parents and neglect" was gonna be big and scary but NO it was BEETLEJUICE
> 
> also I know dang well how I spelled Betelgeuse. That's how it's technically spelled, on the gravestone and on the neon signs. He's named after one of the stars in Orion's belt. Fight meeee


End file.
